Modesty: A Matter of the Heart

1 Timothy 2:9 
 " In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array."

I'm  already done talking about the impermanent nature of our flesh. Now, I'm going to tackle about proper modesty and adornment. This is the most critical topic that I will be discussing since I know that everyone will not going to like  it. And I believe that I can not convinced every women to be modest because modesty is a matter of heart and conviction. But Paul reminded us in 1 Timothy 2:9 on how women should properly bring herself towards people, especially men. But the question is, how would we know if we are dressing modestly? This is a hard question because our view of modesty is relative. But I am not going to emphasize how each of us view modesty in our own point of views. However, I'll be talking about modesty in different perspectives; historically, socially, scientifically, and on how these three perspectives are inline with what the Bible says. Proper modesty have been always an issue for us, ladies, because we don't want to look bad. Well, looking good is never been an issue, but if your motive is wrong, then that's another story. Sometimes our motive is to please someone we love. Of course, we want to be presentable in front of that special someone. But if our motive is to seduce him, so he will think of it as an invitation. Also, we could always look good without too much  jewelries. Honestly, I hate them not because I am allergic, I just don't feel wearing them. I am not telling you to hate jewelries too they way I do, but I suggest if you will minimize it, you know it's annoying sometimes.
 Way back many centuries ago, women in old times tend to dress properly. In Japan, they have yukata. Chinese have hanfu. Korean have handbook. Filipinas have Baro and Saya. And western countries, mostly they have a long gowns. Proper clothing for women  in the old times are  part of each countries culture. It shows how women look so beautiful the way they dressed up. It would also show the attitude and personality of women in that particular country. Moreover, the way women dressed up in history shows their status in the society. It's a symbol of wealth and fame. And for scientific point of view, women should cover up herself since it's a man's nature to imagine something else when he sees the woman's thigh and cleavage. The chemical combination of a man's hormone will send signal to his brain and that's the time when he started to imagine a girl naked. Ladies, we will know that just by looking at the man's eyes.
These three perspectives have something to explain with what Paul have said in 1 Timothy 2:9. Sometimes, women would ask, "what's wrong with me wearing miniskirt?. It's still only one inch above the knee. It's not my problem if men will look at me. Hey, my jewelries are expensive, so what?". My heart troubles every time I see women with plunging neckline, short skirts, very tight jeans, and a see-through-blouse. There was a time when I rode a Jeep and there's a lady wearing a very very short skirt beside me. In front of us were men looking at her. I then started to read the mind of those men. The that lady was complaining why those men kept looking at her. I told her, "Hello Miss, it's not their fault why they keep on looking at your smooth legs. It's yours. So next time, please try to wear something proper." Then I went down from the Jeep and smiled at her. Nowadays, ladies tend to show more flesh as if everyday is a fashion show. Let's try to respect ourselves first, ladies, because real beauty is skin-deep. Try to think of this, do you want men to look at your body or do you want men to look at your face? Men who would look at your body is thinking of...you know it already. But if men will look at you in the face, he would think of you as beautiful. So, if you are asking on how to know if you are dressing appropriately, then try to face the mirror and ask yourself. "Will I offend someone else if I wear these? Do men respect me if they see me with this clothing? Will I glorify God if I wear these?. And how much could I do to show my faith, love, and commitment to Jesus Christ through my outward appearance?"So,  ladies, we should always bear in mind that we should dress to show our character, not our body. Let's try to please God than men because we are God's princesses and a princess is always properly dressed, polite, and well-mannered.

The Impermanent Nature of Our Flesh

As often, Ladies take a lot of time facing the mirror. We make it sure that everything is perfect, the eyebrow, the correct used of foundation, lipstick, blush on, and if our hair is properly fixed. Then we open our closet and look for our style-of-the-day outfits. There are also times when we faced the mirror and observed that we are gaining fats, our skin becomes dry, our hair needs an hot oil, then we scream out loud, and our hope seems like totally devastated. I am not against with the majority of us, ladies, who are guilty of these facts. What I am saying is that, there should be harmony or balance with what people see in the outside and what we are inside. Our physical appearance should match our character. We often neglect that beauty is skin-deep. And when we get older like  thirty or fifty years later, all of us can experience wrinkles, becoming fat, the color of our hair changes, then our physical beauty eventually fades away. But if we take a lot of time improving intellectually, emotionally, and of course spiritually, then we can be very productive. Intellectually, it means cultivating our brain and constantly learning, because you know learning has no terminal points. Emotionally, can we handle our emotions properly? Are we too aggressive? We should maintain to have a good mental health for us to be emotionally healthy.And spiritually, do we have a personal walk with God? Do we constantly pray and read His word? And do we have a relationship with God? It is very important for us, Ladies, to seek God in every aspects of our lives. He should be the first person whom we talk to in the morning and the last person whom we communicate with before we go to sleep. We should please Him in everything we do. Thus, taking care of our physical appearance like putting some make up on, good exercise, and a proper diet, is not bad at all. However, let's make sure that we are taking good care of what's behind it as well--our CHARACTER. Well, just a reminder of the impermanent nature of our flesh. Think about it! So, Ladies, let us stay beautiful inside and out by God's grace.